6 Great Artists Who Are Making The World A Better Place

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 |

Posted by: Nailah Andre

Chance the Rapper just won the 2017 BET Humanitarian Award and rightfully so. Chance has followed in the path of many artists before him who use their platform and resources to better their own communities and overall communities around the globe. Humanitarian work from artists is always worth acknowledging, and his latest effort makes us want to flashback to other artists who put in the work to make the world a better place.

1. Chance the Rapper

If you know anything about Chance, then you would know that the guy has a heart of gold and he loves the city of Chicago. Those two things combined led the 23 year-old rapper to donate $1 Million to Chicago Public Schools, all coming from the profit he made on his Be Encouraged Tour. Along with granting $10,000 to over a dozen schools in Chicago, the publicity of these donations encouraged organizations like the Chicago Bulls to also join in the philanthropy, matching Chance's $1 million donation.

2. Moby

Singer, songwriter and photographer Moby is a man of many talents. Although we all enjoy his music, some might argue that his greatest contributions to society have nothing to do with it, but rather his philanthropy and advocacy. Moby is a well known animal activist who has been advocating for animal rights for almost two decades. He has worked with groups like PETA and Humane Society to raise awareness for causes like the abuse of livestock in factory-run farms to turkey-free Thanksgiving dinners. Last year he opened up Little Pine, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles and donated all profit to animal rights organizations. He has also written personal essays about the benefit of the vegan lifestyle.

3. Big Sean

Detroit rapper Big Sean helped out his fellow Michiganders when he started an organization aimed at helping Michigan residents in a variety of ways. One of these ways include helping the children of Flint, Michigan who suffer from lead poisoning by working with Flint Child Health and Development fund. Through his organization, the Sean Anderson Foundation, Big Sean raised $100,000 to aid Flint families affected by lead poisoning. The Sean Anderson Foundation also has a program called Mogul Prep which is a curriculum that teaches students about the different job opportunities in the music industry other than being artists. The students are able to meet with people in the music industry field and gain guidance.

4. Kesha

"Tik Tok" singer Kesha is another musician with an affinity for helping animals. She has been a global ambassador for Humane Society, where she advocates against the abuse of street dogs worldwide, shark finning, and cruelty-free cosmetics. In the past she has shot a video for the Humane Society showing support for their legislative agenda. In 2010, Kesha even donated 1000 lbs of pet food to a shelter in her hometown Nashville, Tennessee. The singer is also a known advocate of the LGBT community, as she identifies as bisexual and has always spoken out in support of marriage equality. Just last year, she publicly condemned the North Carolina HB2 bill. In 2016, she accepted the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award.

5. Lady Gaga

From the very beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has been a very charitable and empathetic person. Some of the causes she supports are youth homelessness, especially with kids in the LGBT community and HIV/AIDS awareness. During her Monster Ball Tour she partnered with Virgin Mobile to offer premium VIP tickets for fans who volunteered their help to homeless youth resources. With that initiative alone she raised $80,000 for the National Alliance to End Homelessness which focused on homeless LGBT youth. During that tour she also donated 100% of her proceeds to relief for Haiti after their earthquake. In 2011 Gaga worked with M·A·C AIDS Fund's VIVA Glam campaign to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS for young women, during this campaign they were able to raise $160 million to fight the disease.
6. Vince Staples

North Long Beach Rapper Vince Staples decided to give back to the community last summer by donating to a new YMCA program in his hometown. The Long Beach YMCA's new Youth Institute program included programs to help kids learn about music production, graphic design, product design, film making, and 3-D printing. Staples often raps about the violence in his hometown so it's nice to seem him want to make a difference. At the press conference he said that the community needs to show kids that there are options for them right there in Long Beach and that they don't have to "make it out" to live well.